University of North Carolina Athletics
Back for More
October 9, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 9, 2003
by Adam Lucas, Tar Heel Monthly
Melvin Scott's second sport in high school was tennis (he made it to the state playoffs in his first year playing the sport), not baseball. But after last season, the 6-foot-1 guard has a clear idea of what it's like to be a pinch-hitter.
For most of last year, Scott's role was to come off the bench and make jumpers. It's not an easy assignment, especially when you're coming in cold and immediately expected to heat up the offense.
"That's very tough to do," Scott says. "I have total confidence in myself but that's a real tough and stressful situation."
Not coincidentally, his offensive numbers increased late in the year in proportion to his minutes played. His 19 points were instrumental in the ACC Tournament victory over Maryland, and his 12.4 point per game average over the last five contests of the season gave the Tar Heel offense another offensive threat that it sorely needed.
What went almost unnoticed was that during those five games, Scott also had an over 4:1 assist-turnover ratio, relieving some of the ballhandling burden from Raymond Felton. Frequently labeled as strictly a shooter, it's Scott's floor game and defense that could win him minutes as a junior.
The arrival of Roy Williams could signal some changes in Scott's offensive game. He's likely to get better looks at the basket because of Williams's offensive philosophy, which emphasizes quality shot selection.
"We're going to throw the ball inside and get great shots, and if we don't like what we have inside we're going to throw it back out," the Tar Heel head coach says. That means that instead of requiring defenses to simply guard the perimeter, Carolina wants to funnel the ball inside and then throw it out to take advantages of holes in the defense.
ut Scott won't be simply spotting up and shooting over those holes-he'll be slashing through them. He took almost 75 percent of his field goal attempts from beyond the three-point stripe last year, but wants to display more of his mid-range game as a junior. It's a formula he used well during those final five games last season, when he hit 7 of his 11 two-point shots and forced the opposition to do more than just defend the three-point line.
"My mid-range game is the key to my game," Scott says. "In high school I'd kill guys with my mid-range. This year I want to show that a lot more."
Now at 190 pounds after starting last year at 179, the Baltimore native who was once described as a "bad loser" by his high school coach believes he and Williams share a competitive streak. Losing 36 games in his first two Carolina seasons took its toll on the gregarious Scott, but he's ready for a transformation as a junior.
"I haven't been myself the past two years because of the losing," he says. "It makes me feel good that Coach wants us to win in every game we play or every little thing we do. That's what I love. If we're going out there to win, then everybody shares the ball and plays together and that's my style of basketball. I've never been the type to jack up shots, I've always played within the offense."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
